BYT Spring Makeup 08
Joel Didriksen – photographer
Ashley May - makeup
Claiborne Reppert - hair
Morgan Hungerford - styling
Alexandra Verville - model
Kim Klinger – model

After a long, long hiatus, we’re back with another gorgeous makeup creation by Ashley May.

The standout feature here is obviously the lip – Ashley was inspired by all the deep, bright kumquat lips she kept noticing on the runways. Also featured this season were some 70s style frosty peach and pink tones; this look actually sort of incorporates a bit of that too (since, come on, that frosty lip color by itself isn’t really too modern, and we all know how it can go wrong *coughheatheronseason1rockoflovecough*). So, here’s your perfect spring/early summer makeup look, interpreted twice to suit differing skin and hair colors:

We’ll start with me – er, Kim. I was prepped with Embryolisse moisturizer – nearly impossible to find outside of Europe. Oops! Sorry to be a tease! (Google it though; you never know.) It smoothed out my little dry patches well, and didn’t clog pores or feel heavy, so try to find something that will do the same for you. Foundation was kept light and blended with moisturizer – the Cinema Secrets palette in #5 . It’s good for light to medium beige and pinky tones. The fabulously dark circles under my eyes were covered with Amazing Cosmetics concealer in Light Medium Beige- and it really is amazing; it covers so well. But it’s expensivo, and most of you don’t have the giant eye area/dark tone I do, so please, go easy on the concealer no matter what brand you spring for. To set, Ashley is a fan of Laura Mercier’s powders (Secret Brightening Powder in #1 under the eyes; Setting Powder in Translucent for the face).

Eyes – emphasis here is on lashes, but without the super heavy black eyeliner look that often accompanies it. For a base, the 2 lightest colors in Shiseido’s “Desert Winds” palette were used; these were also used in the inner corner to highlight. A bit of Prescriptives’ “Plum Smoke” (defined the outer lid and for definition in the crease, a light (and we mean LIGHT; these were just for some dimension) application of “Charcoal” and “Heather”. Next, MAC eyeliner in Orpheus, which is a charcoal color mixed with gold and silver glitter particles, was blended it on the top of my eye out a little farther than the corners. This was softly smudged, and a very thin line of MACs Blacktrack Fluidline was added to the outer corner of my eye. Why? Because we used some fake lashes! This is the best way to hide the glue – be sure the base is nice and dark. Duo Lash Gel in “dark” was used (PS, it just peels right off when you’re done; nothing scary) to apply Shu Uemura flare lashes in Black to the ends and halfway into my eyes. MAC #3 lashes - longer ones – were added as well. Mascara: Cover Girl Volume Exact– it’s fantastic, trust. Benefit Bad Gal Lash lightly defined my bottom lashes. Brows were and brushed with a brow brush sprayed with Elnett, Ashley’s hairspray of choice (also totally not available in the US. Sorry kids).

Cheeks were kept light and natural - just some slight contouring but barely any blush. This season, colorful cheeks disappeared, but don’t skip bronzer or sculpting neutrals; just keep things really natural and always bring out the cheekbones with something. Nars blushes in “Zen” and “Silvana” are perfect.

And the big finish: lips. We start with Lord and Berry Kissproof lip pencil in Earth, blended into the lip and sheer Fresh gloss in “Bellini” to soften. Now the color: MAC lipsticks in “So Chaud” and “Ramblin Rose” . NARS gloss in “Giza” touched up the lip and added some shine right before the shoot.

Next, here’s how to get Alexandra’s makeup.
Dermalogica’s “Active Moist” – a great light moisturizer for the summer and yes, you can get it here – prepped her. She was airbrushed very lightly with Temptu silicone base makeup, and for under her eyes, the all-time classic and awesome Yves St. Laurent “Touche Eclat” in #1. This let her skin texture shine through but still evened it out beautifully.

Cheeks were a bit brighter – as with me, Nars Silvana and Zen were used, but Alexandra got to wear the pretty peachy-pink Orgasm on top.

For her eyes, a little of Lancome’s “Exhibition” gave light definition on the lid and crease; the crease was defined bit more with “Click”. For lashes/mascara, see above, cause I ain’t typing that again – but note that Alexandra wore a bit more mascara than me to really accentuate the lashes.
On brows, Ashley used MAC’s brow pencils in “Flatter” and “Fling”.

Finally, lips: Ashley used Stila’s sheer pencil in “Melon”, and MAC’s Vegas Volt combined with the Ramblin’ Rose from above.

And that’s it! By the way, this makeup is great for warmer weather: the eyes aren’t complicated or dark, which is much easier to deal with in DC’s nasty humidity. Spring and summer makeup is all about lips; don’t be afraid of those bright colors. Have fun, beautiful babies.

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